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I'll go with the bitch that betrayed him... at least save your legs if you're going to cross-dress as your 10-year dead childhood crush... in other words, there are so many things wrongs with the most socially acceptable character in this show, that it hardly qualifies for NoitaminA

I kind of like the irony of that, actually.

By all outward appearances, Yukiatsu is doing well, going to a good school, seems to be in pretty good shape, usually carries himself with real confidence, and comes across as pretty intelligent.

But with all of that being said, he has major issues lying beneath the surface, and largely hidden from public view.

I think it shows that even very socially acceptable peoples can have major issues that lie beneath the surface.

This guy has some serious coping issues.
Jintan didn't handle things the way he should have. He moped around and definitely let himself become a victim of his own unhappiness, but it's understandable for a kid who lost his childhood crush, his mother and all of his childhood friends, especially if he's the sensitive type.
Yukiatsu's reaction, on the other hand, is way out there. I can relate to it though, I suppose. There are people I grew up with who seemed fine when we were kids, but developed some very strange personality "quirks" as we got older.

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All my friends were vampires
I didn't know they were vampires
Turns out I was a vampire myself
In the Devil Town

No no, that he saved Anaru was nothing compared to that he suggested going out together. That, truly, is what established him as the one character who has truly matured and moved on. Too bad Anaru couldn't follow. But that's just like her I guess.

I must seriously bow to Yukiatsu though. That was an epic recovery and the best part is that it looked completely feasible.

Anyway, not only does he acknowledge that he has a serious problem when Jinta faces him ("Do I look okay?"), he acknowledges that he has been reliant on Tsuruko for all the wrong reasons and lets her be. Then he follows that up with saving Anaru by calling out Jinta's name and acknowledges later that not only was saving her a cliche thing but also that he lacks strength and isn't the Mr. Perfect he plays as. Follow that up with him asking her out. That takes some serious resolve, specially for a depressed person. All the cheers to him.

Oh, I forgot to add but he even had a reason to act the way he did! It wasn't just some chauvinistic 'I didn't get the girl' thing but something we can all sympathize with. 'I was responsible for her death.' But I am sure there is more to what actually happened that day anyway.

As opposed to just seeing what her reaction would be? (i.e. to confirm that she was actually interested in Jinta...)

Honestly rather than seriously asking her out which is obviously not the case his tone completely lacked the sincerity. However it did show his growth as a character, because it shows that he understands how he has been living his own life, one that was obessed with Menma similar to Anaru, but they do so in different ways. His growth comes from the fact he goes out of his comfort zone to comfort Anaru in a rather insensitive way. i.e asking her out. It's his way of getting her to come to her own realization.

To wrap his character in a nutshell, he is insensitive and has has his own inner demons steming from his childhood. However he is growinf up so to speak and learning to be more socialable. That is the character growth that I feel he is leaning towards.

As opposed to just seeing what her reaction would be? (i.e. to confirm that she was actually interested in Jinta...)

I think it was a combination of gauging her reaction, screwing with her just because he could, and trying (again) to get into Jinta's space. In short, I think Yukiatsu is still plenty screwed up. He's probably getting better, slowly, but there's a lot of work to do...

We're already seeing the positive effects of Yukiatsu baring his hentai, angst-filled soul to his old friends. My friend and I discussed his behavior towards Naruko. A few points came up.

1 We've established he's insensitive (not mean, just slow) when it comes to girls. Without Tsuruko's hint he would never have gone after Naruko.

But here's the thing. Unless Tsuruko and Yukiatsu are so familiar they can communicate through riddles, it really wasn't much of a hint at all! Could anyone in that situation have foreseen the pinch Naruko would find herself in? A stretch, even for Sherlock Tsuruko.

And yet, based on this wafer thin circumstantial evidence, Yukiatsu goes after her. He hangs around during karaoke and tails her when she leaves with the stranger. For a friend he's hardly seen since 8-10 years ago, he's really going out of his way to be protective.

Maybe the cold-arrogant-jerk thing is just a phase, and he's really a sweet guy. Maybe Yukiatsu is thawing. Or maybe he does fancy Naruko a tiny bit.

2. After the rescue, Yukiatsu escorts her home, and that to me is where he scores the big points: He cares enough not to leave Naruko alone after what she just experienced. And in his bungling, insensitive way, he does help take her mind off the incident.

He also witnessed enough to know with near-certainty that Naruko is in fact a virgin; certainly not the type used to visiting hotels with men. But he asks anyways, almost rhetorically. I don't know why. Maybe as my friend suggests it's because he himself is not a virgin; a possibility she doesn't like to entertain, but finds plausible.

I think Yukiatsu's possible motivations for his behavior towards Naruko has been thoroughly discussed: He's teasing Naruko in order to learn where she is now and whether she still likes Jinta, etc.

I also think that his asking Naruko to go out with him may not have been all kidding. People focus on the offhanded manner in which he pops the question--confessions are supposed be climactic moments in teen romance--but this is Yukiatsu we're talking about here. Yukiatsu the brick, Yukiatsu, who would probably propose to his future wife during break time in the office with the same nonchalance.

To Yukiatsu, well on his way to recovery from running in drag at night, dating is probably the normal, right thing to do. Part of a regular high school life, moving on and all that. As fate would have it, sitting in front of him is a childhood friend whom he just rescued from rape and whom he's reconnecting with. And she's pretty, despite the disagreeable taste in clothes. So... *Shrug* "Hey, want to go out with me?"

- He suggested getting together with Anjo not because he likes her, but most probably for getting back at Jintan.( Jintan being the only one who can see Menma, as well as stealing Anjo's love).

um perhaps he doesn't "like her" but anjo is well aware of that because she doesn't like yukiatsu either. yet she still playfully flirts with him. yukiatsu is clearly attracted to her and he knows that they both share a similair history--and considering how tsuroko was looking at them in the most recent episode, it's not like it's totally ingenuous.

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- And because Anjo was really cute and bad at handling man, he wanted to catch her at her weakest moment.

it's not like he orchestrated that moment lol. he actually got her out of a sticky situation, how is this is a bad thing.

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- If he was looking for companionship, with his intelligence he should have known why Tsuruko has always been there for him.

maybe he doesn't see tsuruko in that way? it's pretty evident that he's attracted to anjou and he likes talking to her. if he was truly being calculated and manipulative he would have just hooked up with tsuruko. it's more than that.

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I hope Anjo doesn't go out with this manipulative creep.

still don't get how he is manipulative...

honestly i don't get how terrible yukiatsu is when jintan is the one who didn't even bother giving a proper response to anaru pouring her heart out. not to mention jintan had the gall to then ask her to change shifts...i mean really.